Global

U.S. military sites overseas (2007): 761
In Germany: 268
In Japan: 124
In South Korea: 87
Number that the Pentagon defines as “medium” or “large” (worth at least $888 million): 30
Number of foreign countries/territories that host U.S. bases: 39
Total U.S. sites, foreign and domestic: 5,429

U.S. Military Presence in the World

Officially, over 190,000 troops and 115,000 civilian employees are massed in 909 military facilities in 46 countries and territories. There, the U.S. military owns or rents 795,000 acres of land, and 26,000 buildings and structures valued at $146 billion. The U.S. military has bases in 63 countries. Brand new military bases have been built since September 11, 2001 in seven countries.These official numbers are quite misleading as to the scale of US overseas military basing, however, excluding as they do the massive buildup of new bases and troop presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as secret or unacknowledged facilities in Israel, Kuwait, the Philippines and many other places.

Deployed from those battle zones in Afghanistan and Iraq to the quiet corners of Curacao, Korea, and England, the U.S. military domain consists of sprawling Army bases, small listening posts, missile and artillery testing ranges, and berthed aircraft carriers. Much of U.S. weaponry, nuclear and otherwise, is stored at places like Camp Darby in Italy, Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, and the Naval Magazine on Guam, as well as in nuclear submarines and on the Navy’s other floating bases. The weapons, personnel, and fossil fuels involved in this U.S. military presence cost billions of dollars, most coming from U.S. taxpayers but an increasing number of billions from the citizens of the countries involved, particularly Japan.